1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a program for product assembly process display, and a method for product assembly process display, that output scenes on a screen, for assembling a product made from a plurality of parts.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to effectively explain steps of a product assembly made from a plurality of parts, to a worker at the assembly line, video images of assembly work using real parts have been used. However, creation of such a learning video requires an immense effort. When an information processing apparatus is used to display virtual parts illustrating an assembly scene on a display, a cost cutting effect can be expected by omitting the video capturing time. However, this process is also burdensome, since image data for each part needs to be newly prepared. In contrast, when computer assisted design (CAD) data generated during a designing step is applied to image data of parts, it is possible to omit the process of generating the image data, thereby lowering the cost of generating data for assembly scene output.
However, image used in a 2-D (two-dimensional) CAD is an illustrated view from one direction, therefore it is not necessarily the suitable image for the assembly scene. Also, 2-D image may be difficult to easily illustrate the assembly scene. Although it is possible to select an arbitrarily angle when a 3-D (three-dimensional) CAD image is applied, in order to easily illustrate the assembly scene, an enormous amount of data needs to be processed for outputting the assembly scene, thereby making it difficult for a PC for a regular office use to output the data, and eventually increasing the cost.